A French Woman Handed a British Prisoner a Napkin - and His Mother Finally Learnt He Was Alive

A French Woman Handed a British Prisoner a Napkin - and His Mother Finally Learnt He Was Alive

In June 1940, thousands of British soldiers were returning home following the evacuation from Dunkirk. But others were still fighting in France. Among them were the men of the 51st (Highland) Division, who had remained alongside French forces as the German army continued its advance. Their situation was becoming increasingly desperate, and by the 12th of June 1940, the division had been surrounded at St Valéry-en-Caux in Normandy.

Attempts to evacuate most of the division by sea had failed. Supplies and ammunition were running dangerously low, so Major-General Victor Fortune ordered their surrender. Thousands of British servicemen became prisoners of war that morning, including Gunner Henry Owens, whose experiences would later give us an amazing account of their experience.

Henry described the exhausting marches, as prisoners were forced through France and Belgium in the summer heat. Food and water were often desperately short, and he recalled that the guards beat some of the men to keep them moving. Despite the dangers, French civilians tried to offer the prisoners something to eat or drink. Henry also remembered one French woman who had found another way to help.

During the march, she pushed a napkin into his hand. Inside was a message containing news from the BBC, together with instructions asking him to write down the name and address of his next of kin. He was then to pass the information to another woman waiting farther along the road, who would also have a napkin so that he could recognise her.

Henry followed the instructions, although he had little confidence that anything would come of it. With thousands of prisoners being moved across occupied Europe, the chances of a message reaching Britain must have seemed very small. But through the efforts of the Comité de Béthune Red Cross Women’s Section, the information did reach his mother.

According to Henry’s account, this was the first news she had received confirming that her son was alive. She had been waiting to discover what had happened to him, and now, thanks to the efforts of strangers in France, she finally knew he had survived his capture. She subsequently informed Army Records herself that Henry was alive and being held prisoner.

Unfortunately, Henry’s ordeal was far from over. After further journeys by rail and barge, he eventually reached Toruń, in what was then German-annexed Poland, where he received prisoner number 14704. He still faced years of captivity, separated from his family and uncertain about when he might return home.

Does anyone in your family have letters, postcards or memories of a relative who was held as a prisoner of war?

Image info:

51st Highland Division, France, June 1940. Photograph: Capt. Geoffrey Keating / War Office / IWM F 4743. Public domain.